I have to appreciate any woman who tells a story like this without saying, "Look, look what happened to me," but rather "I got seduced by a world that is less glamorous than it seems." OK, so much for literary analysis, but hey, I'm not in the business of that. I'm in the business of reading memoir for pleasure, and while I can't deny the craft of the thing, I did enjoy Febos' story because it felt genuine above all else.

Admittedly, this is a book I thought I might relate to long before I read it because, although my background couldn't be more different than the author's, I can relate to the lure of the sex industry. What I liked most about this book seems the very same thing other reviewers didn't: Febos is smart, and, she tells the read as much. Brava! Education and intelligence have nothing to do with seduction, and this is what spoke to me. Febos tells a story that gets, yes, gritty and there are scenes I'd rather not remember, but her story is a universal one in that she was on a quest for self-realization. She isn't looking to be saved nor is she looking for sympathy, she's merely recounting a journey--and this is what a good memoir does.